In every high school, there are certain classes everyone is required to take in order to graduate. For me, I had to take four years of math, four years of English, four years of science, and three years of social studies. There were some other small requirements as well, like gym, music class, and health class. The rest of the classes could be chosen based on interest. However, the amount of world history classes and world events was very lacking.
To break it down, in high school I only had one world history class. The rest of the classes had to do with U.S. history and the U.S. government. While the world history class was supposed to be about world history, it felt like it still focused on the U.S. When WWII was mentioned, we were taught how the U.S. got involved. When we learned about terrorism, we only talked about what happened in the U.S. We never were taught about tragedies that occurred in other countries or how certain major world events affected other countries. We were so focused on our own country that we forgot about the others.
At the time, I didn't realize the lack of world history learning until I took a college class about the United Kingdom during the 1800s up until WWI. I learned from a whole different perspective through this class. I had no inclination as to what was happening in the U.K. unless the U.S. was involved with them in some way. From this, I knew that there was still much to be learned of history.
Recently, in one of my economics courses, the professor asked us who the president of South Africa is currently. When no one could answer, one kid answered "Nelson Mandela." Now, I have friends from other countries who know who world leaders are, and what has happened in various countries. But I couldn't tell you who the president of South Africa currently is, and I know that many of my American friends can't either. The point is the rest of the world knows more about world history than the U.S. does, and that's a shame.
The U.S. is so focused on their own history that we skip over the rest of the world. In high school, I took math up to Calculus. Now, for some people, they might major in math, so learning Calculus is essential. Other people, however, will never need to know Calculus. I had Calculus as a requirement for my economics major, yet I've rarely used it.
On the other hand, history and current events are something we need to know. Everyone should know history to prevent repeating it. We should all know about the bad things in history and understand other cultures. Learning the histories of other nations would help us all be more accepting. Current events of the world would help all be more informed and could help us make choices on voting. So, why did I have to learn about math concepts I will probably never use in my life while I've never really learned about current events or history; essential subjects that everyone should know about?
Now, I'm not saying that American history is unimportant. It's just that world history is just as important, and U.S. schools should make more of an effort to teach about world history and world events.
